A federal judge Wednesday temporarily blocked the administration from enforcing President Donald Trump’s latest restrictions on birthright citizenship against a nationwide class of children, finding that the policy likely violates the 14th Amendment.
U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman in Maryland said the Supreme Court had already determined that children born in the United States are citizens at birth, even if their parents are unlawfully or temporarily in the country.
“The Supreme Court has spoken: Children in the certified class are ‘citizens at birth,’” Boardman wrote in her 35-page opinion.
The ruling is the latest setback for Trump’s efforts to prune away the constitutional guarantee of citizenship to those born in the United States.
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In June, the high court ruled 6-3 against the president’s Day 1 executive order attempting to end automatic citizenship for children of noncitizen parents. The court affirmed that all children born on U.S. soil are “subject to the jurisdiction” of the United States and qualify as citizens.
The president responded by issuing a narrower executive order Aug. 6 aimed at denying citizenship to some U.S.-born children whose parents are deemed “alien enemies,” who work for foreign governments or are part of what the administration labeled “birth tourism.”
The Justice Department claimed the latest order was compliant with the earlier Supreme Court ruling in Trump v. Barbara and argued that the lawsuit was premature, asserting federal agencies had no opportunity to explain how the executive order would be enforced.
But Boardman said the White House could not use the new order to deny citizenship to children the high court already recognizes as Americans. She granted a preliminary injunction, blocking the enforcement of the August order.
In a major blow to Trump’s immigration agenda, Boardman wrote in her opinion that the 2026 order is “almost certainly unconstitutional,” adding that she believed the plaintiffs “have a strong likelihood of success” in their claim.
“Barbara is the law of the land. The President must follow it,” she wrote.
This story has been updated with further information on the ruling.
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